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Halo 2
"Earth will never be the same." : ''- Halo 2 tagline. 'Halo 2' is a first-person shooter science fiction video game developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the original Xbox console and, due to the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility, can be played on its successor console. It is the second game in the main trilogy, and the sequel to ''Halo: Combat Evolved. '' ''Halo 2 ''was released on November 9, 2004. It would later be released for PC in 2007. Its existence was due to the massive success its predecessor, ''Halo: Combat Evolved, garnered during its debut, a success it continued on with in its release. Like the game before it, Halo 2 sparked huge success, selling well over 8.46 million copies as of November 2008. The game's online servers (only on Xbox) were shut down permanently on April 15, 2010, when the original Xbox Live network was discontinued by Microsoft. Halo 2 ''would later be ported to PC in ''Halo 2 Vista. ''Later, on November 9, 2014, ''Halo 2 Anniversary would be released on the game's tenth anniversary, as a remastered version of the original game, which was released inside Halo: The Master Chief Collection ''for Xbox One. Story Plot '' Halo 2's' ''' campaign is a step forward from ''Halo: Combat Evolved, as it takes much more length to explore the lore of the Halo universe than its predecessor did. Where Halo: Combat Evolved focused more on the gameplay and progression of the story within the limits given to it, Halo 2 is far more open. Also, the player is taken to many more locations (Earth, Delta Halo, High CharityHigh Charity, etc.)' '''instead of just one ( Installation 04Alpha Halo).' Despite this,' Halo 2's campaign is still linear, and only has one ending, like the rest of the games in the franchise. However, in place of the original ten levels, the game now sports fifteen, and explores more of the universe in one game than possibly all the games in the franchise entirely. The game starts where Halo: Combat Evolved ''began; the Soell System. The ruins of Alpha Halo loom in orbit around Threshold, where High Charity, the Covenant's holy city, rests in orbit, along with its entire fleet. A single CAS-Class Assault Carrier glides past as the scene cuts to the Council Chamber, where Thel 'Vadamee is being held on trial for his failure to protect Halo. Afterwards, Thel is branded a heretic and sentenced to brand the mark of shame. Disgruntled, he is escorted out by Chieftain Tartarus' brutes. Cutting to Cairo Station in orbit over Earth, John-117 is seen outfitted in his new MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI. The game then continues with Johnson escorting to an awards ceremony. While this is happening, the scenes cut between the ceremony on Cairo Station, and to Thel being branded with the mark back on High Charity. Eventually, the scene culminates with Cortana informing Admiral Hood that a Covenant fleet of fifteen ships just appeared in orbit over Earth. Announcing battlestations, Hood orders John-117 to defend the station from any and all boarders. John-117 successfully manages to repel the initial wave of Covenant forces, but after the abrupt destruction of both Malta and Athens Stations, Cortana discovers that the Covenant are bringing onboard antimatter bombs to destroy the space stations. His new objective in sight, John-117 continues to deflect the Covenant assault, pushing through until finally confiscating the bomb. After doing so, he daringly jumps out the airlock with it, managing to detonate it inside a CAS-Class Assault Carrier before being retrieved by the [[UNSC In Amber Clad|UNSC ''In Amber Clad]]. Leaving the battle above Earth, the In Amber Clad ''deploys John-117 and Johnson in a flight of Pelicans into the city of Old Mombasa. Halfway in, they run into and are shot down by a Scarab. After the encounter, John-117 and the surviving marines fought their way through the city towards the ''Solemn Penance, the carrier holding the High Prophet of Regret. The fight continued into New Mombasa, where John-117 finally cornered, boarded and destroyed the Scarab. However, afterwards, the Solemn Penance decided to try and escape, so John-117 evacuated to In Amber Clad, and they caught the Penance ''as it entered slipspace. The resulting explosion engulfed New and Old Mombasas, engulfing it in white light. The story cuts back to the disgraced Supreme Commander, Thel 'Vadamee, being escorted from his cell in the brig by Tartarus and his brutes to be shown to the High Prophets of Mercy and Truth. Upon arriving however, the intent is shown to be different, and after waving Tartarus off, Truth and Mercy exchange words with Thel 'Vadamee. After a time, they present him a mission; find the Heretic Leader Sesa 'Refumee, along with all the heretics, and kill them all. To do this, Thel 'Vadamee becomes the Arbiter, saving him from the disgrace of execution. Afterwards, a flight of phantoms carrying a small strike force, lead by Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, and accompanied by the Arbiter, arrives at the gas mine on Threshold, where the heretics are based. Upon landing, they immediately begin their assault on the heretics' base, pushing them further into the structure. However, after further pushing into the structure, they force Sesa's hand, and he releases the Flood present on the installation. However, this does not stop the Arbiter, and he continues to pursue Sesa 'Refumee while fighting heretics, Sentinels and Flood. He is even forced to cut the cable tethering the mine to the gas mine's orbit, sending it into freefall. Finally, he corners the heretic leader in the hangar bay, where he meets 343 Guilty Spark. After a brief battle, the Arbiter kills Sesa 'Refumee and is extracted by Phantom, after Tartarus incapacitates and captures 343 Guilty Spark. He then informs the Arbiter that they are "leaving this system." The story cuts back to John-117, where the ''Solemn Penance ''arrives in the Coelest System, particularly in orbit over the gas giant Substance, dragging the ''In Amber Clad ''along with it. Here, they discover yet another Halo, Delta Halo. Wasting no time, John-117 and a squad of ODSTs are deployed onto the surface, where they immediately assault the established Covenant entrenchments, attempting to renew their attempts to assassinate Regret. After learning about Regret's intent to activate Halo, John-117 continues pushing towards the main temple structure where Regret is located. Through hacking into the Covenant BattleNet, Cortana learns that Regret has contacted High Charity, begging for forgiveness, and in response, the entire Covenant Navy, along with High Charity, is heading for the system. Desperate, they push forward more rapidly, reaching the temple just as High Charity and its fleet arrive in orbit. John-117 manages to slay Regret, jumping into the lake just as the ''Penance ''glasses the temple. From below, John-117 is carried further into the lake by a tentacle, belonging to the Gravemind. The story once again cuts back to the Arbiter, who is walking towards the Inner Sanctum of the Hierarchs, where he witnesses the Changing of the Guard. When he enters, he finds Rtas 'Vadumee explaining to Mercy and Truth the outrage of the High Council over their decision to move the Elites from their position as Honor Guards to the Brutes. Truth explains that the death of Regret has made the Elites' incompetence in the position quite clear. Defeated, Rtas 'Vadumee leaves, shooting the Arbiter a look. After dismissing Rtas, Truth and Mercy present the Arbiter with his next mission; go down to Delta Halo and retrieve the Sacred Icon. Tartarus deploys Arbiter from his phantom, and he proceeds to bring down the Shield Wall. However, this action causes the Flood to pour out, and he is forced to fight through hordes of Flood and squadrons of Sentinels to reach the other side. After meeting with Rtas at an Elite camp, the Arbiter informs him of his mission. Leading a lance of Elites, they continue to push towards Delta Halo's Library, while continuing to fight Flood and Sentinels. Near the end however, it becomes quite apparent that the humans are also after the Icon, and so a race begins. The Arbiter manages to arrive soon enough to stop the humans (Miranda and Johnson) from escaping. He knocks Johnson unconscious, while Tartarus captures Miranda, and retrieves the Icon. From here, Tartarus betrays the Arbiter, revealing that he is planning a great uprising to caste down the Elites. When the Arbiter states that this treachery will cause the prophets to execute him, Tartarus responds that "they ordered me to do it." With that said, Tartarus hits the Arbiter with a gravity pulse, sending him hurling over the edge to his intended death. The scene unravels to reveal John-117 captured by the Gravemind and, not long after, reveals that the Arbiter is in fact alive, also captured by the Gravemind. The Gravemind, using the captured 2401 Penitent Tangent and the infected form of Regret to explain to the Arbiter the parallels between the religious zealotry of the Covenant, and the actual truth. Through this, he tries to convince the Elite that the Great Journey is a lie, and that Halo is actually a weapon that once activated, will wipe out all life in the galaxy. The Arbiter, still not quite convinced, remains persistent. In his final act of persuasion, the Gravemind sends them both to seperate locations with one mission: find the Index and retrieve it before the Covenant activates Halo. John-117 is teleported to High Charity, specifically into the Council Chamber, in time to interrupt Truth's galactic address to the Covenant during the Great Schism. Retrieving a weapon, he proceeds to kill everyone in the Council Chamber, before proceeding to fight his way through the city in pursuit of Mercy and Truth. During this, he bares witness to the civil war sparking in the Covenant's ranks, with the Covenant Loyalists and Covenant Separatists factions fighting in the streets and in orbit. John-117 also watches the ''In Amber Clad ''jump into High Charity, crashing into one of the towers to reveal that it was infected with the Flood; revealing the Gravemind's betrayal. Infection forms catch up to Truth and Mercy and attack their guards. One manages to break through and attack Mercy, but when Tartarus goes to help, Truth waves him off, stating the Great Journey waits for noone, "not even you." He then embarks on his waiting phantom. Meanwhile, the Arbiter is teleported to the surface of Delta Halo, near the Control Room. Traversing the area, he bares witness to the slaughter of his race, and the beginning of the Covenant Civil War. Rallying surviving separatists, he fights the loyalist forces in a push towards the Control Room, where he then locates and destroys a loyalist camp. From there, he continues towards the Control Room, where he runs into Rtas 'Vadumee in a Wraith. When asked, the Arbiter reveals that the High Council was murdered by the Brutes, saying so just as Tartarus' phantom arrives at the Control Room, along with the captured Miranda. Back on High Charity, John-117 arrives just in time for Truth's and Tartarus' phantoms to leave, and Mercy dies when he removes the infection form killing him. Cortana remains on High Charity with the promise to detonate the ''In Amber Clad's engines, destroying High Charity and Delta Halo, ironically comparing it to what they did the last time. With her fate sealed, John-117 fights through the hordes of Flood quickly spreading through High Charity and the loyalist forces within, before finally finding a way to board Truth's dreadnought, boarding it just as it disconnects from High Charity's power grid and enters slipspace. Back on Halo, the Arbiter enlists Rtas 'Vadumee's help in breaking into the Control Room. Rtas 'Vadumee takes the Arbiter to another Forerunner installation, where a Scarab is parked. Once there, Rtas takes his leave to board and hijack a Loyalist-controlled CCS-Class Battlecruiser. The Arbiter proceeds inside, where he is aided by more separatist troops against the loyalists, even helping to release some loyalist POWs. Once outside, he saves a few human marines from execution, but not before Johnson commandeers the Scarab. Forced into an unexpected alliance, the Arbiter escorts Johnson's Scarab to the Control Room, where he blows open the entrance with the Scarab's main gun. Moving inside, the Arbiter stops Tartarus, explaining Halo's true purpose with the help of 343 Guilty Spark. Still blinded by loyalty, Tartarus engages the Arbiter in a duel. After one final battle, the Arbiter slays Tartarus, and Miranda manages to retrieve the Index before Halo fires, but not before it sends the other installations into standby mode. When asked, 343 Guilty Spark explains that only from the Ark can the remaining Halo rings be fired. The Arbiter then enters, asking where it is located. Back at Earth, Truth's dreadnought arrives in orbit, and Hood orders it shot down. John-117 contacts Hood to explain that he is onboard, and when asked why, he responds with "Sir, finishing this fight." The game then ends. In a cutscene shown after the credits, we see the Flood have completely infested High Charity, and Cortana still trapped there. The Gravemind demands that she answer its questions, and she appears, saying "shoot." Campaign On average, Halo 2' ''s campaign takes about 9 hours and 9 minutes to complete, and 14 hours and 45 minutes when playing it leisurely. In the game, there are a total of fifteen levels; five more than that present in ''Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign. Halo 2 is also the first and last Halo ''game to have 'symbiotic' coupling levels. This means that, in the game, two levels can link into each other (Eg. Outskirts and Metropolis are 'symbiotic' missions, because when you finish Outskirts, it immediately links into Metropolis, which is based in the same location, and is pretty much based immediately after the previous level, unlike other games, where the levels were based minutes/hours/days apart from each other). ''Halo 2 ''also represents the first game where you can play as a character other than John-117. The game is played from two perspectives: John-117 and Thel 'Vadamee, the Arbiter. Like the previous game, the cutscenes are rendered using the in-game graphics engine. The fifteen levels of the game are: *The Heretic : ''"For failure such as this, no punishment is too great." * Armory : "Suit up, prepare for battle." * Cairo Station : "Defend the station's MAC gun from Covenant boarders." * Outskirts : "Rally scattered marines, clear hostile contacts from the old-city." * Metropolis : "Take the bridge, break the Covenant's grip on the city center." * The Arbiter : "Infiltrate a Forerunner facility, quell the heresy within." * Oracle : "Kill the Heretic Leader. The Prophets will be done." * Delta Halo : "A Covenant army stands between you and Regret. Get to work." * Regret : "You heard the lady. Locate the Prophet, take him down." * Sacred Icon : "Succeed where others have failed. Lower the shield protecting the Sacred Icon." * Quarantine Zone : "Parasites, humans - no matter. The Icon must be found." * Gravemind : "The Prophets have the Index and plan to use it? Over your dead body." * Uprising : "This is certain: the Brutes shall pay for the blood they have spilled." * High Charity : "Cortana can handle the Index - stopping Truth is up to you." * The Great Journey : "Form an unexpected alliance, keep Tartarus from activating the ring." Characters Major Characters UNSC *John-117 *Cortana *Avery Johnson *Miranda Keyes *Admiral Hood Covenant *Thel 'Vadamee *Rtas 'Vadumee *Tartarus *High Prophet of Truth *High Prophet of Mercy *High Prophet of Regret The Heretics *Sesa 'Refumee Forerunner *343 Guilty Spark Flood *Gravemind Minor Characters UNSC *Fleet Admiral Harper *Major Easley *Marcus Stacker *Marcus Banks *Perez *McKenzie *Jones *Butkus *O'Brien *Parsons *Walpole *Unnamed Lieutenant *Cairo Station Armourer *Chips Dubbo Covenant *Prophet of Disdain *Prophet of Objection Features Summary Halo: Combat Evolved ''was mainly praised on how it changed the first-person genre with its advanced AI, new gameplay style and the changes it brought. ''Halo 2 continues this innovative style, but with its own, unique features added upon it, as well as its own extensions upon those previous features. The game's graphics are also a slight improvement over that of Halo: Combat Evolved, and the game utilizes cutscenes much more than the original game did, which used them to begin and end levels, and were usually brief. *'''Storyline Execution: This differs largely from Halo: Combat Evolved, which had a much more linear style of story-telling than its sequel. Whereas Halo: Combat Evolved ''told the story through a series of brief cutscenes and largely through gameplay, ''Halo 2 ''utilizes both much more openly. Cutscenes are longer, more intense and dynamic, and are now the main force behind driving the story. Gameplay plays this is a minimal role, but this opens the way for it to be more fun, epic and suspenseful. As a result, ''Halo 2's soundtrack improves to a degree to help establish this change in pace. As a result, the story is also more complex, multi-layered and 'episodic,' where it changes from the perspectives of John-117 to Thel 'Vadamee periodically. *'Vehicular Incorporation': Vehicular control from a third-person view has returned in Halo 2, with little change. The system is largely the same, however, vehicles are no longer indestructible, and can be destroyed when enough damage occurs. Supplementing this is a new array of vehicles, as well as the return of vehicles present in Halo: Combat Evolved. *'Weapon System': Also largely unchanged is the weapon system. The aspect of a limit of two weapons at a time, and the grenades being mapped to a seperate button is the same, and some weapons from the previous game have even returned, ableit slightly different or improved. However, a new system is the ability to 'dual-wield' certain types of weapons, largely one-handed ones. This allows you to hold two of the same weapon in akimbo simultaneously, improving gameplay. *'Artificial Intelligence': Largely unchanged, with slight improvements to tweak whatever bugs existed, and others to improve overall performance. Some new enemy types require different AI coding, which is present in Halo 2, which means some enemies have the ability to grab onto surfaces, slash, or even taunt the player with either physical movements, or they will mock the player verbally. Movement in Halo 2 ''is relatively simple, and the same as every other shooter of its time period. The player can move backwards and forwards, left and right. They can look up and down, side to side, or in circles. On the Xbox, this is done through the use of the analogue sticks (left stick to move, right to look), while on PC, this is done through using W, A, S, D (or the arrow keys or whatever buttons are mapped to those operations) for movement, and the mouse is used for looking around. You can also crouch and jump; crouching is useful when utilizing low cover, and jumping for getting to high to reach areas. However, unlike ''Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 ''does not have a fall damage system, which means jumping from any height to land (with the exception of kill barriers) will not deal any damage to the player. Health System ''Halo 2 ''features a large change in regards to its health system. In ''Halo: Combat Evolved, the player had two layers; shields and health. This was represented by the shield bar in the top right corner of the screen, followed by the eight health bars below it. However, in Halo 2, this system is removed. However, contrary to popular belief, this does not mean that Halo 2 doesn't have a shield and health system; it does. However, it is largely changed in terms of how it is represented on the player's HUD. In Halo 2, the shield bar is now seen on the bottom left of the screen, and is located ontop of the motion tracker. As a result, the shield bar is now much smaller, meaning the player's shields now fall much faster, leaving them vulnerable alot more frequently than in Halo: Combat Evolved. ''However, this is remedied with the time between shield recharge being drastically decreased, but the shields themselves, when recharging, do so much faster, usually within a couple of seconds. This helps to keep gameplay fair. Also, like in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, the shield bar is recognized by the small 'shield' symbol beside it. Many think that the absence of a health bar on the HUD means there is no health. This is incorrect. Health is present, it simply isn't represented on the HUD. However, like the shields, it is incredibly small, and hardly noticable, and will go down as fast as the shields. To an ordinary view, it just appears that when the shields go down, the player can absorb a bit more damage afterwards before dying. This is because of the hidden health; and unlike in Halo: Combat Evolved, where you must find health packs to recharge it (health packs are non-existent in Halo 2), they recharge along with the shields. The shield bar appears to change color slightly to represent the damage taken to the player's health. The shield bar, once depleted, will make the same beeping sounds and red flashes that were present in Halo: Combat Evolved. ''However, the slight heartbeat can no longer be heard. Difficulty The four difficulty levels from ''Halo: Combat Evolved ''return, and are largely unchanged. However, Legendary is made slightly more challenging due to the change in gameplay pace. There a four difficulties in ''Halo 2: *Easy : "Your foes cower and fall before your unstoppable onslaught, yet final victory will leave you wanting more." *Normal : "Hordes of aliens vie to destroy you, but nerves of steel and a quick trigger finger will give you a solid chance to prevail." *Heroic : "Your enemies are as numerous as they are ferocious; their attacks are devastating. Survival is not guaranteed." *Legendary : "You face opponents who have never known defeat, who laugh in alien tongues at your efforts to survive. This is suicide." Enemies AI in Halo 2 ''is slightly improved over that of its predecessor, although largely the same. Battle tactics, accuracy and vehicular ability are all consistent with the previous game, but slight improvements also include the ability to taunt the player, physically and verbally, as well as being able to hide and ambush them when they go by. This is incorporated well into the game, along with a wider variety of enemy types and factions. Four factions of enemies are encountered in the game: *'The Covenant': The main antagonists of the game, the Covenant are encountered in every level of the game, even during the levels where they are featured as allies. The Covenant Empire is a range of different species rather than one, and the player, as opposed to the four in the previous game, will encounter those original four, along with two new species, along with a third that isn't fought during combat. The Grunts, Jackals, Elites and Hunters from ''Halo: Combat Evolved reappear, but with slight variations, graphical improvements and weapon variation. Two new species are: the Brutes, who are quite self-explanatory. Brutish creatures, much like sentient grizzly bears, the brutes despise the Elites, and are quite ferocious in combat. They will go berserk when provoked, soak up considerable damage, and are known to eat the flesh of dead humans. And then there are the Drones, who are insectoid creatures with wings that come in large swarms. They usually descend upon their enemies in huge numbers with light weapons, usually tearing them apart or simply overwhelming them with their speed and verocity. The Covenant also have a larger array of weapons, turrets and vehicles this time around. **'Covenant Loyalists': Not encountered until later in the game, during the events of the Great Schism. Largely the same, except they are solely comprised of the Brutes, Jackals and Drones. **'Covenant Separatists': Not ecnountered until later in the game, during the events of the Great Schism. Largely the same, except they are solely comprised of the Elites, Grunts and Hunters. *'The Heretics': Encountered briefly during the player's initial time as the Arbiter, and only during the levels The Arbiter and Oracle. The Heretics are a splinter faction of the Covenant that seceeded from it due to their discovery of the true purpose of the Halo rings, thanks to 343 Guilty Spark, and are led by Sesa 'Refumee. Not significant in terms of overall gameplay, their appearance is extremely minor. They comprise of only two species: Grunts and Elites, however their design is unique, and different to that of standard Covenant. However, they use the same weapons as normal Covenant, but have their own variant of the Banshee called the Heretic Banshee. After the death of Sesa 'Refumee and the destruction of the Threshold Gas Mine, the Heretics never appeared in-game again. *'The Flood': Returning from Halo: Combat Evolved ''is the parasitic entity known as the Flood, who have a decreased significance to the game from its predecessor. This is because the Flood have already been revealed, somewhat lessening the impact of their appearance. They first appear on the level Oracle, and from there on appear periodically throughout the game. It can be noted that John-117 almost never encounters the Flood, only doing so during the level High Charity. Most of the Flood encounters are by the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadamee. The Flood differ little from their predecessors in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, aside from the odd graphical improvement. The types are the same: Infection Forms, Combat Forms (still limited to human and elite versions) and the Carrier Forms. Their purpose is largely the same, although the combat forms now have access to more weaponry. However, the Flood now have the ability to mount vehicles (this can only be observed on the level Quarantine Zone, however), and, if enough firepower is applied, their corpses can be completely destroyed, getting rid of the 'random reincarnation' aspect. Some Elite Combat Forms also come with energy shields. *'Sentinels': Unlike in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Sentinels are never once allied with you, and remain consistent enemies throughout the game. Oddly enough, the Arbiter appears to be the only one to fight Sentinels. And unlike the Flood, where John-117 fights them at least once, Sentinels are never encountered by John-117 for the entirety of the game; only by Thel 'Vadamee. Despite this however, Sentinels remain a significant presence in the game, but only appear during the levels The Arbiter, Oracle, Sacred Icon and Quarantine Zone. They also come in far more varieties. A golden version of the Sentinel is introduced called the Sentinel Major, which fires a blue beam. A massive gunship version is also introduced called the Enforcer, which has massive frontal shields, pulse lasers and guided rockets, as well as being much harder to take down. Allies Unlike the enemy AI, the allied AI aid you in missions, fighting beside you and giving fire support. Although the AI isn't exactly the most intelligent (most of their actions are scripted), it still has its uses, especially on higher difficulties as a distraction or reinforcement. *'UNSC Marines': Just like in Halo: Combat Evolved, you will have marines fighting beside you for most of the game. Marines largely appear during the levels Cairo Station, Outskirts, Metropolis, Delta Halo, Regret, Sacred Icon (as an enemy), Gravemind and The Great Journey. While they can be generally useful during combat, they become more and more useless during higher difficulties, as they die much faster. They can also now drive vehicles, although their ability to do this is dependent on the AI's intelligence. Sometimes they will sit still and do nothing, or other times they will drive into a wall, and other times they will drive along a scripted path. Note: They are only allies when playing as John-117. However, they will be marked as allies on the level The Great Journey. *'ODSTs': Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are a new type of ally introduced in Halo 2. Also nicknamed helljumpers, ODSTs are well-known for being the special forces elite of the UNSC military, and gained their nickname for their point of entry; HEV pods deployed from orbit. In Halo 2 gameplay, their AI and overall performance is exactly the same as standard marines, along with the same array of weapons available to marines. The only difference is in their appearance instead of wearing the standard uniform, they wear their own exclusive ODST armor, which is specialized for the operations they engage in. They appear during the levels Cairo Station, Outskirts, Delta Halo and Regret. Note: They are only allies when playing as John-117. *'The Covenant': While largely enemies in the game, the Covenant will appear as allies during the sections as Thel 'Vadamee. They will do exactly the same things they did while you played as John-117, except they won't attack you. However, the Covenant Loyalists detachment will be your enemies later on. Usually, the allies you encounter are Grunts and Elites, but on the level Sacred Icon, you will get a few Jackals, and on The Great Journey, a pair of Hunters. Weapons Weapons in Halo 2 are generally larger in variety, along with more choice. Some weapons that were previously unusuable in the previous game can now be utilized with no lingering problems, as well as other older weapons being brought back, but improved. Some weapons are not brought back and removed entirely, and other weapons that were cut from the original game, are brought back into Halo 2. Some weapons also have the ability to dual-wield; meaning you can hold two of the same weapon, or one weapon and another type in akimbo at the same time. Human weapons are ballistic and use projectiles, meaning they are more useful against flesh and armor. Covenant weapons are more useful against shields and armor, and Sentinel weapons are more useful against flesh and shields. However, this may change due to the type of weapon utilized. UNSC *M6C Personal Defense Weapon System (Dual-Wieldable) *M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (Dual-Wieldable) *BR55 Service Rifle *M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon *M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun *M90 Close Assault Weapon System *Sniper Rifle System 99C-Series 2 Anti-Materiel B *M68 Asynchronous Linear-Induction Motor *M247 General Purpose Machine Gun *M512 Smooth Bore High Velocity Cannon *M247T Medium Machine Gun *M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Fragmentation Grenade Covenant : Usable *Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword *Type-27 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun *Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon *Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon *Type-50 Sniper Rifle System *Type-51 Carbine *Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle/Scarab Gun *Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle/Jiralhanae Variant (Dual-Wieldable) *Type-25 Grenade Launcher : Unusable *Fist of Rukt Forerunner *Sentinel Beam Vehicles Vehicles in Halo 2 ''are much larger in variety than in ''Halo: Combat Evolved. Most vehicles from that game make a reappearance in Halo 2, along with newer vehicles. Some vehicles that were cut from Halo: Combat Evolved ''are added in ''Halo 2, while improved upon or changed slightly. Some vehicles are still unusable, while others are made usable. Also, in Halo: Combat Evolved, vehicles were largely indestructible, unless there was an operator, and that was only for Covenant vehicles. However, in Halo 2, all vehicles are indestructible, except for certain ones that aren't programmed to be so. UNSC : Drivable *M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle *M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle *M808B Main Battle Tank : Undrivable *D77-TC Pelican *D96-TCE Albatross (Scenery) *GA-TL1 Longsword-Class Interceptor Covenant : Drivable *Type-32 Rapid Assault VehicleType-29 Troop/Vehicle Transport *Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft *Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage *Type-46 Infantry Support Vehicle : Undrivable *Type-52 Troop Carrier *Type-29 Troop/Vehicle Transport *Type-31 Exatmospheric Multi-Role Fighter *Type-36 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform The Heretics *Type-26AZ Ground Support Aircraft As can be noticed, alot of the old vehicles are now drivable, but alot of new vehicles added are not drivable. For instance, the Pelican is still not drivable, and while the Spirit dropship from Halo: Combat Evolved ''has been replaced with the Phantom dropship, the Phantom is still not a drivable vehicle. New vehicles like the Shadow and Scarab are also not drivable, as they are more campaign/objective-based vehicles, not free-reign vehicles. By extent, the Shadow only appears on the level Outskirts, and the Scarab only appears on Outskirts, Metropolis and The Great Journey, respectively. However, vehicles like the Wraith, which was not drivable in ''Halo: Combat Evolved, are now drivable. Powerups Powerups can only be found in multiplayer. There are a total of two powerups in the game, and each one enhances gameplay aspects, giving the player advanced abilities. These are: *'Active Camouflage': Drastically reduces the player's visibility and makes them invisible; this can be found in campaign and multiplayer. This effect lasts for a total of 45 seconds. This effect is made null and void when the player is carrying: a skull, flag, hit by weapons fire, fires their weapon, fires their weapon or when time runs out. *'Overshield': Adds an additional two layers (three on enemies) of shielding. When it is active, your shield bar turns from blue to gold, and your normal shields do not take damage. Unlike Active Camo, it does not deplete over time, and only depletes once both layers have been removed by damage. However during multiplayer, it depletes over time. During this time, you can take direct hits from explosive ordinance. The player is essentially invincible to all kinds of damage, and the overshield can only be overridden by a plasma pistol overcharge bolt, or by assassination. Environment Halo 2 ''differs from its predecessor in that it has alot more variation in terms of its environments, which is largely due to the locale it takes place in. Whether it be a UNSC space station, the surface of Delta Halo, or the cityscape of Old Mombasa or High Charity. Every environment differs from the last, each with its own style and look. Each level is rendered by the game's graphics engine, and therefore limited by that same engine. The first level, ''The Heretic, is based in the Council Chamber of High Charity and the Armoury of Cairo Station. Armory ''is based in the Armoury of Cairo Station, and its numerous corridors. ''Cairo Station ''is based solely on its namesake. ''Outskirts ''is based in the streets of Old Mombasa in Africa. ''Metropolis ''is based in the streets of New Mombasa. ''The Arbiter ''and ''Oracle ''is based in the Forerunner Gas Mine in orbit over Threshold. ''Delta Halo ''and ''Regret ''are based on Delta Halo, in a jungle like terrain surrounding two large lakes, with temples and gondolas. ''Sacred Icon ''and ''Quarantine Zone ''are based in the Quarantine Zone and Installation 05's Library; a snowy area littered with Forerunner installations, either destroyed, heavily damaged or full of mazes and colossal gondolas. ''Gravemind ''and ''High Charity ''are both based in the holy city of High Charity, with numerous towers, gravity lifts, and gardens. ''Uprising ''is based on the surface of Delta Halo, in a forest-like area surrounding the Control Room with numerous trees, Forerunner installations, rivers and camps. ''The Great Journey ''is based in a canyon area leading to the Control Room and the Control Room itself, with numerous Forerunner installations, an ocean and trees. Overall, the environment variety is much more sparse than ''Halo: Combat Evolved. Either majestic and beautiful, or dark, gloomy and suspenseful. Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, none of the levels are revisited twice'', or retraced. Multiplayer When ''Halo: Combat Evolved was released, its multiplayer services were unavailable (and still aren't) because at the time, Xbox Live hadn't launched. However, upon Halo 2' ''s release, Xbox Live had already launched. As a result, ''Halo 2 'had fully-equipped multiplayer services, in addition to the original's support for split-screen and System Link multiplayer. '' ''Halo 2's multiplayer mode was unique in that it offered a new approach to online gaming that intended to alleviate some of the problems that have plagued online FPS games in the past. Traditionally, for first-person shooters, one player sets his or her computer or console up as a game server host, specifying the gametype and map and configuring other settings. The game software then used a service like Xbox Live or GameSpy to advertise the game to the world at large; other players choose which game to join based upon criteria such as the map and game options each host is offering as well as the ping times and they able to receive. In Halo 2, Xbox Live players do not choose to host games, and they do not get to specify individual maps and options to search for. Instead, players sign up for 'playlists' that are geared up to different styles ''of play. For example, the 'Rumble Pit' playlist offers a variety of 'free-for-all' gametypes, primarily Slayer or variations there of; "Team Skirmish" offers a number of 4-on-4 team games, which are primarily objective-based games like Capture the Flag; "Big Team Battle Skirmish" is similar to Team Skirmish but allows teams of up to 8 players. Other playlists allow various things such as matches between different clans. The Xbox Live servers create games automatically from the pool of players that have signed up for each playlist, choosing a game type and map automatically and selecting one player to serve as the game's host. Players can create small "parties" with their friends and enter games together as teammates or, in Rumble Pit, adversaries. They can also play custom gametypes like regular multiplayer. Unranked gametypes allow people on the same Xbox console without an Xbox Live account to play with them as "guests". If the Xbox console hosting the game drops out, the Xbox Live service automatically selects a new host from among the remaining players so the game can continue. Since launching in November 2004, the service has been very popular with gamers. While some players resent the loss of individual control inherent in ''Halo 2's approach to online gaming, others feel it provides a significantly improved gaming experience compared to more traditional online First-person shooters. Bungie's servers match players by skill level, which produces notably balanced matches that players often consider fair and enjoyable. The automatic host selection process also eliminates the ability of the host to exert outsize control over the parameters of the game. Halo 2 players with Microsoft Passport accounts can log on to bungie.net and obtain extremely detailed statistics on their performance, including level maps for several hundred of the player's most recent games that indicate graphically where and when the player scored a kill or was killed him or herself. On April 15, 2010, the Halo 2 multiplayer services, along with all other original Xbox Live services, were discontinued. Maps (Xbox) The game comes with a large assortment of maps within the game, as these vary in unique terrain, location and what weapons and vehicles they have. Some maps are not built for vehicles, and therefore won't have them. Some maps are designed for certain gametypes and barely support others; it depends on the map. Halo 2 was the first game to have map packs, which were released as DLC, and the Halo 2 ''Vista ''version has maps exclusive to that version. : '''Standard Maps *Ascension : "This relay station is part of a network that has kept Delta Halo functioning smoothly for untold centuries." *Beaver Creek : "These forgotten structures were once the site of many bitter battles but have since been reclaimed by nature." *Burial Mounds : "This makeshift Heretic camp on Basis is littered with wreckage from the destruction of Installation 04." *Coagulation : "Recent excavations have failed to shed light on the true purpose of the outposts in this bloody gulch." *Colossus : "Numerous scientific expeditions have failed to reveal what the Forerunners intended with all this damn gas." *Foundation : "Deep in Chicago Industrial Zone 08 lies the decommissioned Tactical Autonomous Robotic Defense System testing facility." *Headlong : "Although during the day Section 14 monitors almost all harbour traffic, at night it's one of the city's most notorious hangouts." *Ivory Tower : "Once home to the famous socialite Lance O'Donnell, the top floor of this building is now a public park." *Lockout : "Some believe this remote facility was once used to study the Flood. But few clues remain amidst the snow and ice." *Midship : "Don't let its luxury fool you - the Pious Inquisitor is one of the fastest ships in the Covenant fleet." *Waterworks : "While the Forerunners excelled at mimicking natural beauty, the machinery in this cavern exemplifies their true genius." *Zanzibar : "Wind Power Station 7 sits as a mute reminder of the EAP's late 25th-century attempt at re-nationalization." : Bonus Map Pack *Containment : "Fighting for a patch of dirt abutting a wall containing a galaxy-devouring parasite may seem pointless to some, but...um..." *Warlock : "Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some stubbornly maintain that this structure was once a Forerunner arena." : Killtacular Map Pack *Sanctuary : "Though its original purpose has been lost to the march of eons, this structure is now a cemetery to countless brave warriors." *Turf : "Though they dominate and open terrain, many Scarabs have fallen victim to the narrow streets of Earth's cities." : Maptacular Map Pack Backwash *: "There are strong indications that beneat the shroud of mist drowning this swamp on Delta Halo lies a powerful intelligence."Backwash Elongation *: "A well-placed bribe can speed a cargo ship through what are surely some of the longest inspections in the galaxy." Gemini *: "This sanctuary now rings with the sound of combat - the end of the ancient duality of the Covenant is truly at hand." Relic *: "Covenant scripture dictates that structures of this type are memorials to Forerunners who fell in battle against the Flood." Terminal *: "The CTMS made New Mombasa's rail system one of the safest on Earth; unfortunately it was one of the Covenant's first targets." *: Blastacular Map Pack Desolation *: "Once a scientific outpost, this derelict Forerunner facility waits patiently to be reactivated." Tombstone *: "The UNSC decommissioned this munitions testing complex after safety concerns came to light."